A traffic policeman during a trial of the "Commonwealth Games lane" (Photo: AP)

Last Saturday, I had a "Love Delhi" moment. Its world class Metro finally arrived close to my doorstep, and after months of cursing the mess its construction has made of the city, I walked down the steps and jumped on a train into the heart of the old Walled City. A journey which once took an hour is now possible in twenty minutes, and the world’s greatest bazaar, home to some of the world’s finest food, is now in easy drooling distance.

The speed with which the Metro has been built – and the high standard of its construction – is a modern marvel in India. It has been built on budget, ahead of schedule, and… Read More

United Airlines say remarks by one of the men caused the suspicion (Photo: Reuters)

The questioning of eight senior Pakistan military officers as terrorist suspects as they arrived in the United States has all the makings of a good gag. They’d just boarded a flight from Washington DC to Tampa, Florida when a female passenger heard one of the delegation, which included a Navy rear admiral, ask a colleague if this was "the final plane to the destination".

They were hauled off the plane and questioned, as they were on their way to a meeting at the U.S. military’s Central Command. All were subsequently cleared by security, but the officers decided to abandon their trip in protest at their treatment. Given the importance of military ties between the United… Read More

Kashmiris run for cover as Indian paramilitary soldiers fire teargas shells (Photo: AP)

Think of India and it’s all Gandhian saintliness, Ravi Shankar’s sitar, a whiff of incense and the feel-good beats of Bollywood Bhangra. These memories, sounds and smells conjure images of the world’s largest democracy, where tolerance and spirituality supposedly reign over realpolitik.

We don’t think of it as a country whose troops are jailing opposition leaders or placing them under house arrest, denying people the right to gather in prayer, beating children to death, or massacring stone-throwing protesters. The words “shoot to kill” are a grim relic from our own recent past, and certainly nothing we ever associate with India.

That’s why India is the world’s first “soft superpower”. It can barely do wrong for doing right,… Read More

I was in Pakistan the day after Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, and I was talking to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the country’s former prime minister, and his cousin Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, who was then the chief minister of Punjab. The country was in uproar: members of their political party were being attacked by members of Benazir’s Pakistan People’s Party, who suspected them of involvement in the plot.

Ch. Pervez introduced me to his son Moonis, the next generation of leadership for their Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) party. Then we talked about what would become of the Pakistan Peoples Party – who would lead it now? I expected him to mention names like the veteran caretaker, Makhdoom Amin Fahim. But no: Benazir’s son, Bilawal, he said, will be… Read More

What have they done to deserve a "special relationship"? You’d think the answer is a clear "duh, nothing!" from the comments made on my earlier blog post. They reveal a Britain caught in inside a billiard ball state, where globalisation might yet, if we fight to the last, be held at bay a while longer, and where Indians are lucky blighters to be here.

Some respondents ask if I’ve lost my mind in suggesting we can’t have more Indian business without welcoming more Indians. “India needs to be told to get stuffed,” wrote one, while another asks: “Are you insane Mr Nelson ? Or do you live in a different world to the one I inhabit?”

She is right. I live in a country where growth is at nine per cent, but come from a country where it languishes at just one per cent. Where I live is full of hope and optimism,… Read More

The PM addresses a gathering at Infosys campus in Bangalore (Photo: EPA)

Here’s a pitch: Hello India, We had a special relationship when we ruled you. Now you are getting richer and we are getting poorer, can we have more of your business but fewer Indian migrants?

My colleague Rosa Prince’s story on the public clash between Lib-Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable and David Cameron over new tighter immigration controls highlights the flaw not just in the Prime Minister’s bid for a ‘special relationship’ but in a key plank of the government’s foreign and economic policies.

Earlier this month William Hague wrote to the Foreign Office’s 1500 employees to inform them of impending changes: They will be expected to refocus their work to help British firms win more business oversea… Read More

I was regretting buying Indian until I voiced my frustration on Twitter last week. Last autumn I finally gave in to pressure from our three teenagers to ditch my beloved Hindustan Ambassador and buy a new car.

I’m too mean for new cars. I hate the immediate depreciation and fear the car-proud phase of resenting every minor scratch – inevitable in India where motoring is similar to stock car racing. But against my better judgment, I yielded to my eldest son’s appeal for extra legroom – he’s pushing 6ft 4ins – and bought a Mahindra Xylo.

Mahindra is one of India’s fast-growing and rapidly globalising companies which make you believe the country really is taking over the world. It makes great cars and sells them for a fraction of the cost of an equivalent… Read More

The beatific calm of Hindu spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has haunted me since I had my first tantrum a few months after arriving in India five years ago.

It’s a shameful thing to lose your temper, but the reality is that India’s bewildering bureaucracy, complete lack of accountability, over-abundance of cheating landlords, dangerous drivers and unwashed hordes hawking phlegm within inches of your person or leering at your daughter can, if combined with 48 °C heat, try the patience of a saint.

I think my first subcontinental outburst came when I discovered my landlord had connected the electrical wiring from his attached house to ours, so all his electricity was on my bill. Or, it could have been when I discovered that the friendly but expensive painter he recommended was so pricey because he’d secretly included the cost of painting the landlord’s house too.

I’ve never really understood why a modern country which trumpets equal opportunities needs an extended family of jobless millionaires to symbolise its nationality. But I’ve always had a grudging respect for the Queen.

I like her hairshirt style, admire the Spartan furnishing and threadbare carpets of the royal residences, and have to acknowledge how hard she works to promote Britain.

So why, when Britain’s economy is on its knees and we need a foothold in growing economies like India is she dodging the Delhi Commonwealth Games in October?

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "It is correct to say that the Queen will not be attending the Commonwealth Games this year. The sheer volume of engagements this autumn, coupled with other overseas visits, means she would not be able to attend.”

The decision and its sudden announcement is a serious blow to the Indian government which regards the Games as its big moment to showcase… Read More